Author: Chad Harper
Aug
22
Many of us feel stressed, worried or fearful regarding things in our lives. Realistically we should not be people of worry or fear.
God’s ways are not of fear and worry.
That is not just a good sounding statement. Matter of fact, scripture takes it further. 2 Timothy 1:7 says, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” Read the rest of this entry
Author: Chad Harper
May
25
In our society, we often view running away as a cowardly act. In God’s kingdom, fleeing is actually the most masculine thing to do. To flee is not a cowardly act; the Bible encourages us to flee. However where you flee to determines your character. Read the rest of this entry
Author: Chad Harper
Sep
26
You have seen the bumber sticker. “Know Jesus, Know Peace. No Jesus, No Peace.” Yes, it is a life changer. I propose to you a new bumper sticker. ”Know Jesus, Know Everything. Period.” If you truly know Jesus, then you know everything you need to know to have a happy, prosperous, purposeful, fruit-filled life. When you know Jesus, it is not about your pedigree, your wealth, your education or anything else. Jesus is everything we need.
Read the rest of this entry
Author: Chad Harper
Sep
1
Too often in church we put so much emphasis on our relationship with God that we neglect our relationship with others. When in fact, our relationship with God is no deeper than our relationship with others. You may view yourself as having your act together spiritually. Maybe you are faithful in many things that enhance a walk with God; prayer, studying the Word, fasting, faithful church member, big contributor, adhering to doctrinal beliefs. However, we know from Jesus Himself, that it is not enough to just love God.
Jesus said in Matthew 22 that we are to love God first and then in conjunction with that, love our neighbor as ourselves. It was not an A or B answer. The two are connected. If you love God, then you will love your neighbor as yourself. Like Siamese twins sharing vital organs, one is dependent upon the other.
If we want to love upward to God, then we must love outward to our fellow man. You cannot say you have the love of God in you if you do not love your neighbor. This does not mean we have to get along all the time and agree on everything. You love your family, at least I hope you do, and still have fights. What Jesus was saying is that you cannot say you love God when you do not show the love of God to your neighbor. John said it this way, “If a man say, I love God , and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” Read the rest of this entry
Author: Chad Harper
Aug
16
Right now, Gavin, my 3 year old boy, is of an age where we must think ahead. When we buy pants, we make sure we buy them with “room to grow” in them. Meaning, if we buy them for what currently fits, then he will outgrow them shortly and we will be back at the store buying him bigger pants.
For some reason, as we grow older, we forget this childhood adage. We do everything exactly as we currently need it. Read the rest of this entry
Author: Chad Harper
Aug
9
Peanuts characters are well known throughout many generations. One of the characters was named Pigpen because he was filthy. Every time you saw Pigpen there was a cloud of dirt hanging around him. When you saw the cloud of dirt you automatically knew, here comes Pigpen.
We too are known by what cloud is hanging around us. Read the rest of this entry
Author: Chad Harper
Jul
26
In Luke 13 Jesus talks about the kingdom of heaven. It reads, “He said therefore, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I liken it? It is like unto a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his own garden; and it grew, and became a tree; and the birds of the heaven lodged in the branches thereof.”
Jesus likens the kingdom of heaven to a grain of mustard seed that when planted grows into a large tree. Have you ever wondered why a mustard seed? Read the rest of this entry
Author: Chad Harper
Jul
18
At the dedication of Solomon’s temple we see an interesting act occur. 2 Chronicles 7:1-2 says, “When Solomon finished praying, a bolt of lightning out of heaven struck the Whole-Burnt-Offering and sacrifices and the Glory of GOD filled The Temple. 2 The Glory was so dense that the priests couldn’t get in — GOD so filled The Temple that there was no room for the priests! (The Message.)
The glory of God was so strong and thick in the temple that the priest couldn’t even get in. This analogy has so many lessons on so many levels. For brevity’s sake lets look at the top 2. Read the rest of this entry
Author: Chad Harper
Jun
9
They are cute, at first, then they start to get annoying. It is not your first born child. It is the Roomba. The little disc vacuum cleaner that automatically cleans your carpets while you work on other things around the house or even while you are not there. The concept is simple, this robotic vacuum cleaner roams your house sucking up dirt and debris until the floors are clean. The way it works is, it travels in a straight line until it hits something; a wall, a chair, the dog. Then it turns and goes another direction until it hits something else. The logic is that with enough bumping and turning it will eventually clean every inch of your carpet. Read the rest of this entry